


Gamer

by slashmania



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Arthur is obsessive, Humor, M/M, Romance, video game violence, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:32:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashmania/pseuds/slashmania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Inception' is the hottest new video game on the market. When Arthur finds out about its existence, what choice does the best Point Man have but to play the game and learn its secrets? And, as he plays he notices a reoccurring theme- mainly how 'Forger' and 'Point Man' need to be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gamer

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on fanficition.net
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9477951/1/Gamer
> 
> Much of this story was inspired by the Onimusha 2 trading system because I know that Jubei and Kotaro are meant to be together! There is also a point that I mention Dom dressed as a panda for the game, and that comes from the above-mentioned game series as well.

Gamer

Arthur hadn't been actively looking for evidence of a videogame depicting the events of the Inception. He hadn't had this burning desire to learn everything about it, purchase it, and play it over and over again.

_That_ part came a little bit later.

No, the way that Arthur had come into contact with this latest videogame craze involved receiving someone else's mail.

Arthur was going to throw out the colorful videogame related magazine when he had realized the mistaken delivery in his mail box. He was going to place it on top of the mail box in the lobby of his nice apartment building, slip back into the elevator and ride up three floor's to his own apartment so he could get to work on a project for the latest job Dom had mentioned. It was a show of their understanding of one another, their trust, and Arthur's inability to _not_ do what he did best, when Arthur began to do the research and planning required without being asked by Dom at all.

Arthur was the only Point Man that Dom would ever choose now, long after Inception was over and done with, his name cleared, children restored, but still itching for the experience of dreamshare, Dom would want to work with someone familiar and steadfast and reliable.

It only made sense that the best Extractor would want the best Point Man on his team. And the best Chemist. And the best Forger. And who was surely going to become the best Architect as she became more involved in work with the PASIV device.

When they had begun to work together after a brief six months taking up other pursuits and job offers after the Inception's success, it felt like a big family reunion!

Arthur hadn't been impressed with Eames' doubled efforts to flirt him into saying 'Yes' to any of his propositions. Things as mild as going out together for a meal, or things that happened to be teasingly veiled invitations for something a bit more mature.

The Point Man had to ignore Eames who was only becoming a greater strain to his will power.

When he didn't put the magazine back on the mailbox for pick with a little note about the wrong address and didn't throw it out when he noticed it was laying on top of his counter, Arthur decided to read it during breakfast the next morning.

Though he wouldn't admit it outright, he did have a liking for videogames. RPG's could be fun, especially if they happened to be detailed, driven by a good storyline, and had excellent graphics. If he hadn't been involved in dreamshare for so long and witnessed the types of creative and impossible structures that could be built there, he would have been more impressed with what graphic designers and other tech people created for the lay outs and art of new videogames.

He looked at the pictures featured in the magazine, the reviews given for the latest Final Fantasy, a Q and A column with a voice actor for a videogame that was becoming a movie- and then, Arthur dropped the spoon full of cereal that had been about to go into his mouth.

The spoon missed the bowl, dropped its load of milk and cereal onto the table top before flipping as it made contact, spinning in a brief arc to hit the floor with a metallic clatter.

Arthur didn't care that he had gotten milk on the sleeve of his nice dress shirt. He didn't care that there was a mess on his table.

The Point Man's eyes were fixed firmly upon the magazine he had in front of him, one side of the magazine folded back so he could hold it, read, and eat at the same time.

'Inception' the headline for an article about new videogames said, 'The most thrilling and adventurous game on the market- where the line between dreams and reality can only be found with a _totem_ , secrets can be stolen while you sleep, and a team of skilled professionals do the impossible- completing the Inception of an idea into the mind of their mark without falling into Limbo and remaining there forever.'

And just below that, there were images from the game. Pictures of the characters you would play as or interact with. Arthur's blood ran cold when he saw the likenesses of each of his teammates in a neat row, with their position and job title typed in bold font across the bottom of the image.

There was the Extractor (Dom), the Architect (Ariadne), the Chemist (Yusuf), the Forger (Eames), and finally, the Point Man (Arthur).

Their real names weren't listed, and it appeared that throughout the game, the characters that were obviously based upon them were _only_ known by their professional titles. It was uncanny how these game designers had nailed their appearances on the head.

Dom's character looked a bit worn, tired, but still focused on his mission- blue eyes burning with the need to finish the job and get back to his kids. Ariadne's looked so young and pretty, new to the work of an Architect of dreams but clearly hungry for more experiences of pure creativity. Yusuf looked like a typical mad scientist, depicted playing with his chemicals, but surely was sane and intelligent. And Eames…they tried to tone down what the Forger would wear in reality and dreams, but still made it a point to display how little taste the man had. Eames' character was just as scruffy, just as devious, smiling the way he would smile after telling a joke or teasing Arthur.

Arthur already hated his own character because of how similar they were. Same slicked back hair, same brown eyes, same frown, and perfect dress sense in a tailored suit.

Arthur stood up from his breakfast table, dropped the magazine on there not caring that it landing in the spill of milk, and came to a swift decision.

Though he had thought that he would be working on the research for Dom today, he now had a new project. A more important project.

He had to find out which person had created this videogame, how much personal information it revealed _especially about the totems_ , and how he could destroy it if he found it necessary.

While he could spend his time online doing his fact checking, seeing how many people were talking about it, and learn more about the creators of the game through websites and clever hacking, Arthur knew that he was going to have to buy the game and play it all the way through to see just how far this leak had taken them if some person had decided to make a videogame about it!

* * *

When Arthur had found the nearest store that sold videogames, game systems, and other products for their use, he had to wait in a large line full of fans of the newly released videogame.

He had to shudder when he noticed that several of them were young- junior high and high school age, all talking animatedly about the game, how cool it was, and who their favorite character's were.

Arthur saw that a number of them had small totems that belonged to their favorite character's and didn't know if he should feel smug that the number of red die was greater than the small silver tops.

And, after a few moments in the line, trying to occupy his thoughts with something better than this hell, he was shaken by the sound of a camera flash and the light that accompanied it.

"Like, oh my god!" One girl said in a breathy voice as she looked him up and down. She was one of the people with a red die clamped in her hand. "You're cosplaying the Point Man! Oh my god, can I like get a picture with you?!"

Arthur didn't know what cosplaying was. He found out over the course of the next thirty minutes waiting in line, as fans of the Point Man character from the videogame begged him for pictures together, that they thought he was only _dressing up_ like the Point Man. He found it kind of disturbing that they thought he was only dressing up like this for the game. That they could never know that this is what he always looked like and tended to dress in this manner when he wasn't in the mood for casual wear and needed to make an impression.

And he had _definitely_ made an impression today!

He hadn't even thought of what he would look like and hated himself for even thinking that a suit was a good idea!

As the picture requests came in, he heard lamenting remarks of; 'Why can't the Forger come? God, everyone knows that the Point Man _has_ to be with the Forger! I wonder if someone is going to want to cosplay as him too!'

Agreements of how awesome it would be, and how cute the two characters looked together, swelled and flowed down the line as the word of 'Point Man's' presence among them was passed around.

As if summoned by their wishes, Arthur felt someone get into line behind him, and lean in close enough to whisper in his ear.

"Darling, I never would have pegged you to be a fan."

At the sound of Eames' voice, heads turned and eyes widened.

"Look!" One tween said in amazement, producing a poker chip and waving it at Eames. "It's the Forger! Oh, please-please-please let me take a picture with you?"

More requests flooded in when the nearest young men and women noticed that Eames was standing behind Arthur with a smirk that was identical to the one the videogame version wore in the images featured in magazines and posters about the game.

Breaking out of the line, they clustered loosely around the two dream workers, taking pictures and calling out that they do a pose from the game.

Arthur hadn't been prepared for Eames to wrap his arms around his waist and pull him close so his back was pressed against the Forger's chest and stomach, who had also decided that he _had_ to rest his chin against Arthur's shoulder.

More pictures were taken and Eames laughed at Arthur's discomfort. "They just want us to be ourselves," Eames said softly enough for only Arthur to hear. And then he raised his voice to the excited group of young fans.

"I don't know about _poses_ from the game, but who wants a Frustrated Point Man/ Smug Forger shot?"

Before Arthur could do anything, Eames and moved to kiss the Point Man's cheek, humming in pleasure as he did so.

The flashing lights from the camera phones, the videos being taken with cell phones, the cat calls that erupted around them were enough to make Arthur flush in embarrassment and sharply elbow Eames in the stomach.

The action took the man's breath away in a rush and made him let go of Arthur quickly, granting the escape Arthur wished for so dearly. He turned to glare at Eames, resentful and embarrassed by what he had allowed several people to catch on their smart phones and what would no doubt appear on the internet within hours.

"I don't understand how you think that this is okay," Arthur growled. "In front of a group of strangers? You're lucky that I didn't _shoot_ you!"

The audience gasped in delight at something they no doubt related to the videogame. Eames winked and smiled, forcing himself to stand up straight despite the pain in his stomach from Arthur's well placed elbow.

"But, darling we aren't dreaming at the moment. You wouldn't be waking me up, you'd kill me!"

Arthur gave him a sarcastic smile. "You say that like it's a problem."

There were sighs from their audience at that comment.

"Aren't they so cute when they fight?"

"I love Forger's accent!"

"Their banter is always so fun!"

Soon, the doors were opening to the store and the line of eager customers ran into the shop to claim their copies of Inception, followed at a more sedate pace by Eames and Arthur.

The Forger had sidled up to Arthur's side so they could walk closely together and chat.

"Aren't you worried that you won't be able to get a copy of the game?"

Arthur shook his head. "I was able to reserve a copy. How did you hear about this, Eames? I only just found out and I want to kill the person that sold our story, sold _us-_ to some videogame producer!"

Eames was smiling in Arthur's direction, but the Point Man was too intent on following the line to notice.

"Are you going to try and play the game to learn more about who pulled this off without you knowing?"

Arthur nodded sharply and walked through the front door where he almost froze in front of cardboard cutout versions of himself and the team from Inception the videogame. This just wasn't fair in any way, shape, or form.

Eames paused to look at it too. "It is strange though. Kind of bracing- I have to keep asking myself 'How did you get here?' in the hopes that this isn't real."

Arthur said nothing, but knew that he himself had the same feelings on the subject. He didn't like the idea that there was now a videogame detailing the events of one of the most dangerous jobs they had ever done- or the idea that there might be personal information that could be used to hurt them presented as a portion of the storyline.

"Don't worry," Arthur said as he began to walk with Eames towards the thinning line of customers and others passed them by with their games in hand to exit. "I'll play it, get everything out of it that I can, and then I'll make sure that there is no way it remains in circulation."

Eames chuckled.

"You're the best Point Man for a reason, Point Man."

Arthur rolled his eyes as he was referred to as his character was in the videogame.

"Thanks, Forger." Arthur said in turn.

After receiving the game he had managed to reserve a copy of through some clever computer hacking, he prepared to pay and get the hell out.

He was stopped by the man working the register who had just finished ringing up Eames. Arthur was still surprised that the Forger was even _buying_ the game- he had never thought to ask if Eames had a genuine interest in videogames, but then, should have realized that Eames might enjoy these sort of things. Role playing games and acting were very close to what he accomplished with his Forgery.

"Look, we didn't advertise it, but we always love it when customers come in dressed as their favorite characters," he said, passing each man a ten dollar gift card for the store with a shrug of his shoulders. "You guys definitely look the part, and if anything, the way you guys stood outside in line to wait for the doors to open gave the store tons of free publicity!"

Arthur looked at his card and frowned. He may as well do more business with the store as he needed a system to play the game on as well.

Eames laughed when he heard Arthur asking for the system that the game was played on to be rung up for him, using his new gift card, and then paying the rest in cash.

When he finished the transaction and had the game, the system complete with controllers, and the clerk's gratitude for his business- he looked over his shoulder to find that the Forger was gone.

Arthur tried not to notice his hurt at the Forger not saying goodbye. It didn't matter, he thought vindictively. Arthur was certain that he'd be able to finish the game tonight and not have to think about the stupid thing anymore.

* * *

Arthur had been playing the game since noon when he brought everything back to his apartment, set it up, and sat in front of his television to start the game.

It was now 3:00 a.m. and all Arthur wanted to do was throw the game and its system against the wall in frustration.

He didn't understand it! He really didn't! He had already managed to finish the game in its entirety once.

The game focused on Dom's character, The Extractor, as a main character. The plot was the same- Dom was on the run from authorities that believed he had killed his wife, who goes unnamed. His one friend the Point Man works with him to try and find his way back to his two children that are revealed in flashback sequences that just about broke Arthur's heart. Saito was even brought into the plot much as he had been before, laying the ground work description and giving the player a good idea of how the levels of a dream could be built and the distribution of work.

Ariadne is pulled in as Architect when Nash sells them out, Eames is called in from Mombasa by Dom. Yusuf is hired at Eames' suggestion.

The team is assembled and known only by their job titles- Extractor, Architect, Chemist, Forger, and Point Man.

In Arthur's opinion it shouldn't have taken him so long to complete the game as it followed the events of the real life Inception too closely.

The problems had started when he realized that there were mini-quests that had to be completed before the Extractor could continue- each one was like a mission!

There had been the one at the beginning- 'Extractor must escape from collapsing dream' and then there was a certain length of time given to complete the task. If you went over the approved length of time, you had to redo it. If you completed the task quickly with few mistakes you were rewarded with extra life points, experience points, and special cut scenes.

Other missions were:

'Architect and Extractor exploring a dream'- during this time, you can control the structures and buildings through Architect, gaining points based on the complexities of the buildings or formations, loosing points depending on how quickly the projections, particularly Extractor's wife, kill Architect in the dream. Based on that system, it would greatly affect how quickly Ariadne's character would return to take her place on the team.

'Extractor trying to enlist Forger'- for this mission, it wasn't enough to get Forger to say 'Yes' to the job- in order to cement it, Extractor had to evade Cobol, run into Saito, and pick up Forger in under five minutes. It had been nearly impossible, but after drinking a couple of cups of coffee and doing it over and over again, Arthur had succeeded! He had to stop himself from cheering and was thankful that no one was around to see him playing.

What Arthur had noticed during the game was that there were moments when he would be asked to trade something to one of the other characters- and if he did so successfully by giving them something they required, that particular character would give him more assistance during one of the missions or fights. If they didn't like what Extractor gave them, it dropped their morale and that particular character wouldn't be a 'strong ally'.

If Arthur had known that, he wouldn't have traded to his own character so much- when he gained control of Point Man, it had shocked the hell out of him!

Arthur had almost choked when, during the second dream level inside the hotel during the Inception on Fischer, he had to play as himself, as Point Man, fighting off projections in zero gravity and then making the kick work with the elevator.

He had been confused when he hadn't been able to control other character's except Extractor after that and sat through the end of the game to watch Extractor go free, see the other team members at luggage pick up- and then Arthur noticed something. He paused on the scene that hadn't happened in real life.

I might not have minded it, Arthur thought to himself in a guilty fashion.

Forger and Point Man had picked up their baggage and began walking off together, one only briefly stopping to pull the other into a deep kiss.

They were frozen in that moment together 'Pause' glowing on the screen, while Arthur watched in shock, because even if he had wanted something like that to happen, seeing it occur in a videogame was a bit odd.

That had been the ending to the first play through, at roughly 5:00 p.m. After taking a short break to use the restroom, stretch, and make a sandwich, Arthur placed himself back in front of the television, laptop at his side with a window open to the Inception videogame FAQ. If Arthur was going to find out everything he needed to know, cheat codes perfected by others would be the way to do it. He could worry about the ones who had had the time and the access to the game to work out these codes so soon after the games release, later.

He was sure that that ending was just some sort of a mistake because of what he had done during the trading sequences and decided to not bother giving certain character's things.

Another mission where Extractor was forced to locate the lost totems of his team members (and no, he had no freaking idea how that was even _possible_ in real life) he had not bothered to return Point Man's- and was greatly annoyed when there was a little cut scene where Point Man sat down at his desk in a dejected way and Forger drags Extractor over. 'It's a magic trick,' was all Forger would say, pulling the unwilling Extractor over to Point Man's desk. What followed had to be the stupidest yet heartwarming sight of Forger waving his hands around in a distracting manner, picking Extractor's pocket, and returning his red die to Point Man.

'You are the best at extraction in the dream business,' Forger said with a smirk- 'But in reality you are truly terrible at extracting anything from your _pockets.'_

Arthur would reset the game and play from the beginning three more times until he found that he was only making it worse- he found Forger and Point Man paired up on a timed mission- a practice session on forgery that always tripped Arthur up because of the number of buttons he had to press to make Point Man attempt to Forge himself into the other man's appearance.

"Right, right, left, up, down, right, move the left hand toggle counterclockwise!" Arthur chanted to himself, again and again.

Each time he failed there was a cut scene where Forger laughs at Point Man, and tried to force the other man's frowning mouth into a smile with a thumb placed at the corners of Point Man's mouth, raising them slightly so it appeared that he was actually smiling. It continued with Point Man laughing with the other man, batting Forger's hands away from his face, but the smile was still there. It made Arthur's heart ache a little bit to know that though that had never happened on the job he really _wished it had._

There were several other occurrences through cut scenes and missions, game play and trading that hinted at a relationship that was more than professional- there was a moment when during the first level of the Inception dream, instead of Saito getting shot, it is any one of the team members. The cut scenes for when it was Point Man that gets shot during the car chase, or when it is Forger that gets shot in the backseat next to Fischer made Arthur feel just sad. The relationship between Point Man and Forger was just so obvious when looked at through the cut scenes- no wonder so many of those Inception fans kept cooing at the pair he and Arthur made while waiting in line to get the game.

In his breaks, putting the game on 'pause' to check the FAQ, he saw all of these notes and tips at how to avoid the dark endings that peppered the game- and several more that hinted at happy endings for everyone, and special cut scenes if certain requirements were met. There was also information about where to find or how to win special weapons, tools, and items.

Arthur looked at the clock and found that 3:00 a.m. was a fond memory as he had wasted more time trying to work out how he had played the game wrong, or if not wrong, how he had played it so it persistently presented Point Man and Forger as the one true pairing of Inception, aside for Extractor and his dead wife or Extractor and Architect.

It was close to 6:00 a.m. but Arthur couldn't stop playing. He grabbed a soda and started on the extra missions. Sleep was something that Arthur could worry about later. _Much_ later.

* * *

Arthur had been playing, pretty much non-stop, for one day. Having started the day before at noon and was only now aware of the time because his phone was ringing.

Looking at the clock he found that it was noon again. His mouth felt vile, but he was sure that happened when you tried to stay awake through a bizarre combination of strong coffee and Mountain Dew. If he had another can of that stuff he was sure that he would be redecorating his floor, and not because the extra caffeine rush from the soda was giving him the urge to lay down carpeting.

Arthur shook his head at the thought brought on by the real worry of being sick and his worry over Forger- he kept on _dying_ for Point Man! Arthur wasn't sure how they had gotten into this self sacrifice loop, and wanted to get out of _soon_.

To try and distract himself from his videogame troubles, Arthur forced himself up and off the floor, and answered the phone.

He was happy that he had a wireless phone because it allowed him to go back to his spot in front of the television, and keep the phone pressed against his ear by keeping it balanced between his shoulder and head so his hands were free.

"Hello?" he said as he un-paused the game, restarting the shootout scene in the warehouse on the first level of the Inception dream- _As Point Man, he was shooting at the projections, each one he hit disappearing with a little 'Plus 25!' floating away from where the body would have been._

"Arthur? What- What are you doing, you're breathing kind of heavily."

Arthur only half registered that it was Dom on the phone. He cleared his throat and killed some more projections that were _getting way too close for his liking!_

"Not at all, Dom," Arthur said, readjusting his hold on the phone when he had a second's breathing room in the game. He almost smiled when he noticed that Forger had popped up beside him, taking aim with his grenade launcher, a speech bubble appearing next to his head, 'Don't be afraid to dream a little bit bigger, darling.'

"-Laughing?"

Arthur heard Dom's voice and tried to pay more attention to him.

"No, I wasn't laughing Dom," Arthur lied, as he _had_ just laughed at what Forger _and_ Eames had said during that action packed moment when everything was going to go to hell if they died on that level-

Arthur sucked in a terrified gasp of air as he watched Point Man get shot and fall dying into Forger's arms- it always happened like this when it was Point Man's death cut scene!

_In the game, Point Man was coughing blood and Forger was huddled around him in the only shelter still available- even as bullets punched their way through it. Forger refused to leave him alone._

' _You can't give up, love! You can't!' Forger looked close to tears at this moment because it was clear that giving up wasn't a choice so much as a foregone conclusion._

' _I-," Point Man said softly, 'I guess I didn't dream big enough…"_

"I-" Arthur said in unison with Point Man, having seen this scene enough to have the words memorized, "I guess I didn't dream big enough…" Arthur repeated the line with the dying Point Man, blinking away the stupid tears that were more likely a product of exhaustion than the death scene he kept getting trapped in!

"ARTHUR?" Dom bellowed into the phone. "If you don't tell me exactly what you are doing right now I'm going to run over to your apartment and _find out!_ "

That threat shook Arthur up enough to 'pause' the game, kick the controller away, scoot himself farther from it before forcing himself to his feet. For extra security, Arthur turned his back away from the sad scene of Forger holding the dead Point Man, who was going to be trapped in Limbo.

Thankfully there was another bonus level that could allow Forger to rescue Point Man or anyone else that was lost down there- but mainly only Point Man because Forger wouldn't care about anyone else- not Chemist who was bribed by Extractor to make it possible for them to die and not wake up in the name of getting home to his family, not Extractor who lied about everything, not Architect who was _obviously_ too young for this and had a big big crush on Extractor!

"Start talking, Arthur!" Dom ground out sounding more worried than anything.

"Sorry!" Arthur spat out, "I'm so sorry! But, you know I ran into a terrible problem yesterday. Did you know that some idiot made a videogame about Inception? And, well, being the Point Man of our team, I just had to research this. It's been 24 hours and all I'm finding is all of these obvious hints that Forger and Point Man should be having lots of sex!"

There was a pointed silence from over the phone.

"And, and – we keep dying! How is it a special cheat code to make Forger and Point Man keep dying? I've been trying to work on it; _my_ character has been killed seventeen times and Eames' character has been killed twenty times trying to _save_ my character during Inception! Depending on how the relationships between Extractor and whichever team member he's closest with, a whole new storyline begins to run parallel to the actual Inception game's story. Extractor has already gotten Point Man to reveal a sad past that sort of makes him act like he has no emotions to protect himself from being hurt, Forger's mother died when he was a child, Chemist wants to cure cancer and does all of the dreamshare work on the side, and Architect wants to get into Extractor's pants! She's succeeded every time, so I don't understand how Forger and Point Man keep _dying_ \- and then have a cute moment- and then _die_ some more. It's on repeat, I tell you! I have only completed 50 percent of their storyline!"

There was still more silence over the phone. Arthur couldn't help but continue.

"I don't know who sold us out, but the details for the game are just so amazing. And the art work, and the storyline, but whoever created this thing _knows_ too much. Like, like they were there for everything!"

Once more there was silence. And then, Dom cleared his throat self consciously.

"I think that we need to talk about this in person."

"Sure, yes, okay-," Arthur said before hanging up and running back to the game, un-pausing it, and working on saving Point Man from Limbo.

If, as Forger, he killed at least six more projections, he could go down to Limbo with a new poker chip that had plus 10 luck that would work with the red die with plus 10 luck that Arthur had equipped Point Man with before he died. The extra 20 points of luck could give Point Man a better chance to know that he was dreaming and be more likely to come back with Forger from Limbo.

Forger killed _twelve_ projections, getting his upgraded totem, medicine, and his grenade launcher which was the only weapon of Forger's that could be used one time while on separate dream levels, but stays fully working in his arsenal while trapped in Limbo and its subsequent levels of doom.

But before he went down into Limbo after Point Man, Arthur made certain that Forger saved at the glowing PASIV save point.

You know, just in case.

* * *

The knock on the door disturbed Arthur. He couldn't move, playing statue as he watched the ending scenes of the game he had just managed to go through again- having done every challenge, completed each game, collected every special item, and even had Chemist create things in his lab with them. That was how he had managed to get _two_ of Point Man's plus 10 lucky dice and _two_ of Forger's plus 10 lucky poker chips, Extractor's coat that was plus 15 attack and repelled stains quite nicely, and Architect's blueprints that provided at least 20 points of defense if they were followed but were diminished by 5 points each time any member of her party tried to improvise.

He even put in the extra effort to get Chemist's special item- the gasmask that restored his life points even as he took damage while wearing it! He hadn't realized how much easier it made doing Chemist's car chase with the other team members and the mark sleeping in the back of the van!

There was another knock on the door. Arthur wasn't answering it because he didn't want to. He wasn't answering it because he couldn't feel his legs.

Arthur had been sitting on the ground for too long, but, in his extra time down there, made doubly certain that he had saved his game at one of the glowing PASIV save points, and then, struggled to get up.

There were a series of snaps and pops, but Arthur ignored them to shuffle to his door, running his hands over his hair to smooth down any wayward strands, and brushed off his clothes in case he had bread crumbs there.

He was at the same time, grateful and annoyed that he had changed out of his nice clothing over a day ago to sit down and play the videogame in sweatpants and a large shirt he would sleep in.

But, Arthur hadn't slept. He also hadn't showered. Or brushed his teeth…yuck…

Arthur straitened up, shutting his eyes tightly as he felt and _heard_ a vertebra move back into place in his spine.

Popping in mint into his mouth, he opened the door, and hoped for the best.

The best, or what he got at least, was a gaping Dom. He wasn't alone; at his elbow was Ariadne who looked a little bit sheepish, and just behind _her_ , was Eames who looked like he hadn't been getting much sleep either, but had at least gotten a shower at some point.

Before Arthur could mentally call him a lucky bastard, Arthur had to remind himself that his scores on Inception were probably much higher than the Forger's.

He allowed them all in but realized that it probably wasn't the best idea as his front room was a mess. A strange rather orderly mess.

There were soda cans lined up like soldiers in neat ranks, a trash bag full of whatever it was that Arthur had forced himself to eat while he played Inception.

What he had eaten ranged from sandwiches, lunchmeat, pretzels, peanut butter, and candy. But, as the playing got to be intense, he realized he didn't want to spend time away from the game 'cooking' and if he couldn't eat without his hands he was better off drinking his pots of coffee to stay awake, water to stay hydrated, and the can's of Mountain Dew he thought that he would grow to hate, but didn't really mind after awhile because it was something he could still drink from with a straw.

He wasn't even sure when he had thought to buy Mountain Dew, but was happy to have it anyway since it had given him such a great caffeine boost.

He had really needed it, especially during the zero gravity fight scenes he had to perform as Point Man with a goal of 'knock out/kill x-amount of projections while securing the dreaming teammates, and set the charges in the elevator before the second kick in less than ten minutes'. Point Man had managed it in half the time because Arthur had thought to equip him with a pair of shoes that increased his speed 2x, making him look like he was really flying rather than just _floating_ along with his bound together teammates down the halls towards the elevators.

Looking at the number of soda cans lined up, Dom raised an eyebrow and asked one of the many obvious questions he had for the distracted and tired Arthur.

"Have you at least been getting up to go to the bathroom?"

Arthur nodded heavily, feeling the loss of energy, the need for sleep, but also the tantalizing call of the game.

_Play me, it said. In my video gallery you can watch all of your favorite moments over and over again. And, didn't you want to play the game again with Extractor dressed like a panda?_

Arthur knew that he was being spoken to, but couldn't help it as his eyes were dragged back to the system and the warm glowing of the screen; it was the start up menu- _Inception_ it said while playing the theme song, the song they used in both reality and the game to signal the kick.

He didn't realize he was humming along with it when a throat was cleared.

Arthur's attention snapped back to his guests. With an effort, he managed to move to the television and turn it off.

The sigh of relief was heard around the apartment.

"Please, find a place to sit and we can all talk- you said that it would be better if you did it in person, Ex- Dom!" Arthur corrected himself too late, forcing the Extractor's true name out before he referred to him as he would if he was still playing the game.

Dom was running a hand over his face, looking so tired and worn out that at first Arthur had no idea what was going to be said and revealed.

When the Extractor took Ariadne's hand in his own and squeezed gently, Arthur's skills as a Point Man, the skills that made Point Man of the Inception game pretty awesome, kicked in.

"Oh, my dear god," Arthur breathed, glaring daggers at the young woman as he sank to the ground in front of his seated guests. "It was _you_ Ariadne? You- you _created_ a damned videogame out of our Inception job and _didn't bother to tell the damned Point Man about it?!_ "

Ariadne seemed to shrink next to Dom who put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and Eames who didn't seem to have much mercy for her- in fact, his eyes were firmly on Arthur at this point.

"I didn't intend for this to happen Arthur! Really, I didn't! I was working on my final project when it was suggested that building models on the computer could save space and be easier- when everyone saw what I was coming up with after the Inception, they all thought that I was designing architecture for videogames."

She waved her hands and grew only more flustered as Arthur focused with stony silence.

"I got to thinking about it- wouldn't Inception be the coolest thing to present as a videogame? Before I knew it my work had been heard of, a production company got interested, contracts were signed. And then, they involved me in every step of the way because I not only designed the world but 'wrote' the story- I thought I was doing so well by not mentioning anyone by name, and I didn't put in _everything_ from the job."

She waited for Arthur to say something, but wasn't rewarded by a single word.

"The test subjects loved the story, the characters, and even some of the stuff we came up with to add a few twists to the story-," Arthur interrupted her there.

"Like multiple death scenes and love scenes that never happened, me and Forger's particularly- did you write all of the lines too?"

Ariadne blushed and ducked her head.

"The problem I'm having right now, after playing the game a good four times, is that you seem to have these unresolved fantasies about Point Man and Forger being together. I don't appreciate it. Really. I just wasted one day, _not_ trying to find out if we had been found out by a possible enemy who had all of this special information but on the fantasies of a teammate. I'm going to bed- so please just leave me alone."

Arthur had turned away but paused. Ariadne bit her lip and Dom stared at the floor. Eames was the only one trying to look at Arthur.

"Did you at least get a good grade on your final project, Ariadne?" Arthur asked in an exhausted voice.

Surprised at the question, Ariadne brushed away her tears of shame and answered. "I- I got an A! They thought that it was a really imaginative way to look at the project."

Arthur hummed to himself. "That's great. Lock the door on your way out." And then he continued to walk out of the living room and into his bedroom- slamming it shut hard enough to make the guests on the couch jump.

It appeared that their welcome was over.

* * *

As Arthur came out of the shower, still tired but now feeling human again, he paused and slipped on something comfortable that he didn't care wasn't tailored and cost more than what most people made in a month.

His only intentions were to go out into his living room, clean everything up, shut down the game system, and then crawl in bed to sleep for longer than he usually allowed himself to.

The Point Man forced himself to a stop when he noticed that he wasn't alone.

He noticed that his television was on and a certain scruffy Forger was sitting in front of it on the floor, holding onto a controller and watching the screen with rapt attention.

Arthur recognized this scene- it was the scene from the hotel again, Forger laying on the floor waiting for Point Man to insert the needle from the lead for the PASIV.

' _Projections are going to run you down.' Forger said in a gruff, worried tone._

_Point Man smiled one of his rare smiles. 'And I shall lead them on a merry chase!'_

_Forger didn't seem comforted by his words._

Arthur knew what Eames had said to him before he had been put under by the PASIV- 'Don't forget the kick.'

And, what Arthur had answered with was 'Go to sleep, Mr. Eames.'

Of course, what their characters said in the game was different. Lots of things had been different. In this instance, what _Forger_ said was something different, but still matched the expression, the worry in the other man's eyes, as they were idly chatting about Point Man, about _Arthur_ risking his life at the hands of the projections that would do more than run him down- they would murder him and he would be trapped in Limbo for it.

What Forger had said was _'Don't forget, love. I still need to take you on that date- it's a must that you be alive and well to attend.'_

_Point Man had blushed lightly at those words, leaning forwards to press the needle in gently. 'Go to sleep, Forger.'_

Eames laughed at the dialogue and Arthur felt that this was the right time to let the man know that he wasn't alone.

"That one's a favorite of mine too-," Arthur said, noticing that Eames flinched only slightly when he heard his voice. The Forger turned around slowly to look up at the Point Man, not moving from his spot on the ground. "I had to fulfill the requirements for it to be shown. It took me seven tries-"

Arthur sat down beside Eames. "I had to maintain the Forgery of the blonde woman all the way to the elevator where Forger reveals his identity to Saito."

"Right, right, up, up, up, down, and then turn the right toggle clockwise," Eames recited in an annoyed voice. "Forgery isn't supposed to be that difficult! I had redo it _ten_ times while you were in the shower. I kept forgetting to turn that stupid toggle thing clockwise. I turned it _counterclockwise_ instead and kept getting caught by the projections."

As Eames looked at Arthur, he said two things that were obvious.

1\. "Why is Saito the only one that gets to keep his name?"

And

2\. "You don't have a shirt on, darling."

In reply to both, or to just save time, Arthur stopped being tense and afraid of what to expect, and leaned against Eames because he was tired and liked the idea of pressing his body against the other man.

"I have no clue why Saito, or even _Nash_ got to keep their names- my current theory is that Saito is affiliated with the company that produced the game and Ariadne doesn't realize it. Nash is probably dead. And, as to your other statement: I thought I was alone and didn't see the need for a shirt."

Arthur looked around the room and noticed that everything was clean.

"In addition to crashing on my floor, playing my videogame, you cleaned up- that's thoughtful. Why didn't you leave when I asked?"

Eames, when he looked at Arthur, appeared to be as tired. From what he said earlier he had been playing the game as well, spent a great amount of time on it, and was now working through some thoughts that the game brought on…or maybe Arthur was projecting.

The Forger sighed. "I'm Eames, love. When do I ever do what you say the first time?"

That small joke made Arthur laugh just a little bit. "Okay, you're right. How about this one- why did you come here with Ariadne and Dom?"

Eames placed the controller down in front of him, pushing it away from himself much like Arthur had before.

"I noticed that the game was too accurate. Had a feeling that someone on the team had a hand in the game's creation- when I spoke to Dom about it, turns out that he had recently learned about our Ariadne's little project. We should be safe, darling."

The Forger frowned. "Okay, we'll be safe from just about everyone but those fans of the game that thought we were just cosplaying Forger and Point Man. I'm sure that after they uncover the separate endings, the extras, and the cute cut scenes, they will _never_ leave us alone."

"Eames, I'm going to be honest with you. If you ever try to pull the 'Cosplaying Forger and Point Man' thing, I'm going to harm you. I don't want to be Point Man in a relationship with Forger- I want to be _Arthur_ in a relationship with _Eames._ If you say no and have been just flirting and teasing, leave. If you say yes, come to bed with me right now."

Eames looked at Arthur, eyes widened with disbelief at what he was hearing- the straight forward confession of the Point Man. Slowly the disbelief faded and was replaced by a smile of pure happiness at the other man's words.

He tried to pull Arthur up and onto his feet, but it was a bit of a struggle as they were both bone tired. The thought of bed and sheets, pillows and _Arthur_ was what drove Eames forwards, managing to get them off the ground and moving towards Arthur's bedroom.

The Point Man's arm was looped over Eames shoulder and they helped each other through the living room.

As Arthur turned off the lights with a lights-switch located at the doorway he looked over his shoulder at the television that was still on and the game that was on 'pause'.

After a second, Arthur patted Eames on the shoulder, quietly telling him to go on ahead.

The Point Man moved gingerly on sore legs, too tired to think, but finally made it to the still glowing system. He knelt and looked at the screen that showed Point Man leaning over Forger who was on the ground- it was the 'Merry Chase' scene as Arthur liked to think of it. He knew how the scene ended in the game- Point Man kisses the sleeping Forger before moving onto another task.

The 'paused' symbol glowed across the bottom of the screen.

As he pressed the power button on the system, the screen became snowy white and gray, the images from the Inception game gone.

He turned off the television and made his way back to the bedroom where his relationship wasn't a game. His relationship with Eames wasn't on pause, either.

It was just beginning.


End file.
